The Pokémon World
Championships are a day away, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t time to make
some final changes to your deck or team. We talked to
a couple of the U.S. Nationals Top 3 to find out how they are preparing.

Jonathan Hiller, U.S.
Nationals Senior Division 2rd Place (VGC)

Can you tell me a little about your experience at Nationals?

My experience at
Nationals was really great. I had won at Regionals the year before. It was
interesting going back, as I didn’t do as well at Regionals this year as I did
last year. I went in with lower expectations for this Nationals, but it turned
out really well.

What did you do to prepare for Nationals? Did you change up your
team?

Yeah, I made a new team
after Regionals, because I didn’t think the team I had would do well enough at
Nationals. And after the Japanese National Championships, the entire strategy
in America kind of shifted.

What happened at that event?

The move Swagger became
really popular just overnight. The Japanese Masters Division winner had a team
of Pokémon with Swagger, which I believe had Thundurus and a Cresselia. So that
became really popular and people had to kind of play around that.

Did you go back and build your team to defend against that?

I did go back and make
sure it was better equipped to handle it. Swagger didn’t really have any
presence at the U.S. National Championships, but I was ready for it.

What kind of teams did you see at the U.S. Nationals?

Rain was a popular
strategy. Most teams didn’t really have any kind of theme, but there was a lot
of Cresselia, Metagross, Thundurus, and Scizor. Those Pokémon were really
popular.

Who do you play against to practice?

Before Nationals, I was
playing with my friend Toler Webb (U.S. Nationals Senior Division 3rd
Place) and other people over Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection in the Global Battle
Union on the Pokémon Global Link. After Nationals, I haven’t played with Toler
much because he lost to me in the Semi-Finals.

Is there a little bitterness there?

No, it’s really just the
competition. We don’t want to see each other’s teams before Worlds.

Brandon Smiley, U.S.
Nationals Senior Division 3rd Place (TCG)

Can you tell me how your experience at Nationals went this year?

It was my first time
placing so well in the event. I got 3rd and my cousin got 4th,
so we both were pretty lucky. We both got the trips to Hawaii, and we hadn’t
played much this season.

How did you qualify for Nationals?

I got in through the
Regionals, and I won 1st Place there.

And have you changed up your deck since Nationals?

I changed it up a lot.
With the new set, Black & White—Dark
Explorers, coming out, I changed up a lot of different things.

What would you say the key tech is in your deck?

For me, it’s Super Scoop
Up. That just changed so many games if I flipped heads. If they were about to
knock something out, I would just flip a heads and they couldn’t. It worked a
lot.

What decks are you expecting to see at Worlds?

I’m expecting a lot of
Darkrai-EX decks—Darkrai-EX/Smeargle decks or Darkrai-EX/Mewtwo decks. Also, I expect to see some
Vileplume decks.

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